On  Trees  and  Shrubery 
Adapted  to  the  soil 
and  climate  of  Nashville 


August  Gattinger 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT   LOS  ANGELES 


GIFT  OF 

Villiam  McPherson 


TREES  AND  SHRUBBERY, 

ADAPTED   TO    THE 

SOIL  AND  CLIMATE  OF  NASHVILLE, 

IN    RELATION    TO 

YARDS,  STREETS  AND  PUBLIC  PARKS. 

BY 

ATCiTST  GATTINGER,  M.  I)., 

Mini/Hi'  "f  flu-    AiiH-rii-itii    AxtiK-in/iaii  J'or  tin'    Adrmiri'itirnt   <>/'  Xri 


ARBORICULTURE  AND  HORTICULTURE, 


DR.  J.  D.  Pi.rxKKT,  I'lntUlcHt  of  the  Nashville  Board  of  Health: 

DEAR  SIR — In  compliance  with  a  request  of  the  Board  of 
Health  of  this  city  I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  to  you  herewith 
a  general  treatise  on  Arboriculture  and  Horticulture,  with  refer- 
ence to  the  embellishment  of  this  city,  and  the  conditions  of  our 
climate  and  locality. 

Yours  very  respectfully, 

A.  GATTIXGER. 

Nashville,  September  1,  1878. 


The  development  of  artistic  taste  and  a  growing  sentiment  of 
the  Beautiful  in  Nature,  have  of  late  within  this  community 
achieved  very  gratifying  results.  Modern  architecture,  embody- 
ing the  wonderful  improvements  and  cdmforts  of  an  inventive  age 
with  the  insuperable  models  of  the  classical  phases  of  this  art,  is 
rapidly  supplanting  the  dull  structures  of  a  bygone  unaspiring 
age.  The  expanding  contact  with  the  world  and  their  growing 
wealth  and  prosperity  invite  the  citizens  to  surround  themselves 
with  those  luxuries  and  refinements,  which  elsewhere  adorn  long 
established  seats  of  government  and  commerce. 

Now,  since  art  more  than  ever  before  leans  with  pious  devotion 
upon  nature,  it  becomes  of  consequence  a  rational  desire  to  bring 
in  harmonious  union  the  charming  aspect  of  nature  with  our  city 
and  domestic  life. 

The  advantages  of  this  movement  are  plain.  It  increases  health 
and  cheerfulness,  the  love  of  home,  and  strengthens  the  patriotism 
of  the  citizen. 

Public  opinion  favors  propositions  in  regard  to  the  adornment 
of  the  city  with  parks  and  avenues,  and  private  enterprise  has 
embellished  a  great  many  homesteads  with  trees  and  flower-bees 
in  elegant  devises.  The  monotonous,  obstructive  and  at  random 
method  of  tree  planting  formerly  pursued,  gives  us  now  more 
annoyance  than  pleasure,  and  the  ubiquitous  Paper  Mulberry, 

11  467G65 


ARBORICULTURE  AND  HORTICULTURE. 


with  its  cumbersome  umbrage,  and  the  Ailanthus,  with  its  un- 
pleasant odors,  have  been  unlucky  selections  for  general  planting. 
It  is  a  remarkable  and  astonishing  fact,  that  men,  living  in  the 
midst  of  primeval  forests,  constituted  of  the  most  magnificent 
trees  in  the  world,  had  to  go  on  a  pilgrimage  to  the  other  side  of 
the  globe,  to  the  shrines  of  Buddha  and  the  South-sea  Islands,  to 
obtain  a  pair  of  trees  of  no  peculiar  merits  for  ornamental  plant- 
ing. 

However,  we  ought  to  look  even  upon  such  errors  with  a  degree 
of  reverence  as  the  first  attempts  in  a  prudent  and  beneficial  enter- 
prise. Civilization  and  culture  of  plants  have  been  wedded  to- 
gether in  all  ages  of  which  we  possees  historical  records,  and  lawrs 
and  religious  ceremonies  relative  to  the  culture  of  cereals  and 
fruit-bearing  trees  were  recognized  by  the  most  ancient  nations 
of  both  continents.  A  sacred  law  prohibited  the  adorers  of  Osiris 
to  damage  fruit  trees,  and  the  first  commandment  in  the  Zend- 
Avesta  says :  "  Thou  shalt  cultivate  the  field,  and  plant  fruit- 
bearing  trees."  The  acknowledgment  of  the  great  blessings  con- 
ferred upon  man  by  the  arborescent  vegetation  in  support  of  life 
and  aid  in  the  simple  industries,  led  primarily  to  the  veneration 
and  worship  of  trees,  and  this  sentiment  of  reverence  advises  us 
to  find  in  it  the  root  and  origin  of  the  early  rising  of  a  profound 
sense  of  the  love  of  nature  amongst  the  Semitic,  Indie  and  Iranic 
nations.  Wherever  the  mind  had  matured  so  as  to  be  able  to 
conceive  the  beautiful  in  the  aspect  of  nature  and  to  create  the 
desire  to  enjoy  this  pleasure  in  the  fullest  measure,  there  was  ori- 
ginated the  first  artificial  plantations.  Diodorus  describes  the 
gardens  laid  out  by  Semiramis  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain  Bagis- 
tanos.  Rows  of  cypresses,  whose  obelisk-like  form  recalls  to  the 
mind  the  shape  of  flames,  stood  around  the  sanctuary  of  the  tem- 
ple of  Zoroaster,  and  the  residences  of  the  Persian  kings  were 
surrounded  by  extensive  artificial  plantations  of  great  beauty. 
These  ancient  Asiatic  gardens,  "  Paradeisoi "  of  the  Greek  authors, 
derive  their  name  from  the  old  Persian  "  Purdes,"  and  this  again 
descends  from  the  Sanscrit  "Paradesa,"  which  means  an  environ. 

I  take  occasion  to  make  some  historical  remarks  to  guard  against 
the  acceptance  of  that  hollow  phrase,  "Modern  Civilization,"  as 
the  originator  and  distributor  of  every  art  and  knowledge,  thought 
to  elevate  and  beautify  human  life. 


ARBORICULTURE    AND    HORTICULTURE. 


Admiration  of  and  respect  towards  the  majestic  and  venerable 
in  Plant-Life,  has  originated  and  is  still  at  home  in  the  East,  and 
many  confirmatory  facts  are  recorded.  Herodotus  speaks  of  the 
joy  of  Xerxes  when  he  beheld  the  great  Plantain  in  Lydia,  to 
which  he  presented  gold  and  jewels,  and  gave  her  an  attendant  in 
the  person  of  one  of  the  10,000  Immortals.  Great  was,  by  the 
Hellenic  nations,  the  fame  of  the  majestic  Palm-tree  in  Delos  and 
an  old  Plantain  in  Arcadia.  The  Buddists  in  Ceylon  are  paying 
their  veneration  to  the  colossal  Holy  Fig-tree  of  Anurahdepuva. 
He  is  said  to  have  grown  up  from  the  branches  of  the  parent- 
tree  under  which  Buddha  went  into  Nirvana. 

The  aspect  of  Nature,  for  which  the  Greeks  and  Romans  had 
very  little  conception,  took  impression  at  an  early  day  upon  the 
remotest  Asiatic  nations.  Already  under  the  victorious  dynasty 
of  the  Han  (100  A.  0.),  in  China,  had  parks  and  pleasure 
gardens  extended  over  the  country  in  such  dimensions,  that  from 
the  encroachment  upon  agriculture,  the  people  became  alarmed 
and  revolted.  A  Chinese  author  of  those  times  has  so  touchingly 
and  with  such  clear  comprehension  laid  down  the  rules  for  land- 
scape gardening,  that  a  modern  artist  could  not  improve  upon  the 
principles,  although  the  means  and  material  at  disposal  have  now 
immensely  increased.  "What  enjoyment,"  says  he,  "do  you  ex- 
pect to  derive  from  a  pleasure-garden  ?  In  all  centuries  men 
have  agreed  that  plantations  ought  to  compensate  man  for  those 
amenities,  of  which  the  remoteness  from  a  life  in  the  free  and 
unbound  natural  state,  his  genuine  and  loveliest  domain,  deprives 
him.  The  art,  therefore,  to  lay  out  a  garden,  consists  in  the  en- 
deavor to  render  the  cheerful  picture  of  an  open  country,  luxuri- 
ance of  growth,  and  so  to  combine  it  with  shade,  seclusion  and 
•quiet,  which  will  produce  upon  the  senses  the  illusion  of  a  rural 
retreat.  Diversity,  in  which  the  country  excels,  ought  to  be 
effected  in  the  selection  of  surface,  alternation  of  hills  and  dales, 
in  rivulets  and  lakes,  covered  with  aquatic  plants  All  symmetry 
is  wearisome;  ennui  and  disgust  is  felt  in  gardens  where  every 
design  betrays  constraint  and  artincialness." 

Out  of  this  early  developed  pleasure  in  the  imitation  of  the 
physiognomic  of  nature,  proceeded  progressively,  in  the  course  of 
centuries,  after  intervals  of  mental  stagnation,  a  system  of  inquiry 
and  investigation  into  the  conditions  of  diversity  of  natural  objects, 
which  we  now  call  natural  philosophy. 


ARBORICULTURE  AND  HORTICULTURE. 


This  modern  or  scientific  culture  has  accomplished  the  beautiful 
achievement,  to  enable  us,  nearly  in  all  places,  where  inclemency 
of  climate  or  insufficiency  of  the  soil  threaten  us  with  painful  pri- 
vations, to  produce  artificially,  by  culture  and  grouping;  of  native 
and  -exotic  plants,  the  charm  of  landscape  and  diversified  vegeta- 
tion, which  in  their  fullness  and  reality,  with  personal  observation, 
we  could  otherwise  only  experience  by  dangerous  and  distant 
travel. 

At  this  time  has  also  been  fully  demonstrated  the  powerful  in- 
fluence of  vegetation,  especially  of  the  forest,  on  the  condition  of 
climate  and  health.  Humidity  and  fertility  of  the  soil,  the  quan- 
tity and  frequency  of  atmospheric  precipitation,  are  governed  by 
the  expanse  of  forest-covered  country.  The  return  of  resolved  and 
apparently  inert  matter  into  organic  circulation,  and  lastly,  con- 
scious existence,  is  effected  principally  by  the  action  of  roots  and 
foliage,  which  absorb  from  the  air  carbonic  oxyd  and  other  gase- 
ous or  vaporous  products,  likewise  from  the  soil  as  aqueous  solu- 
tions of  very  simple  or  more  compound  constitution.  The  chemical 
changes  going  on  within  the  tissues  of  plants  effect  not  only  the 
growtli  of  the  same,  but  maintain  the  state  of  the  atmosphere  and 
the  springs  in  a  condition  fit  for  the  existence  of  animal  life. 
Very  strong  arguments  are  in  favor  of  the  opinion  that  the  odors 
and  exhalations  of  certain  trees  and  plants  destroy,  by  oxydation, 
deleterious  gases,  or  floating  organic  corpuscles,  which  would  pro- 
duce malaria  or  zymotic  diseases.  Different  species  of  the  Euca- 
lyptus family  have  of  late  years  earned  great  reputation  as  disin- 
fectants for  malaria  regions.  This  blissful  property  is  thought  to 
be  due  to  the  exhalations  of  their  foliage  and  the  enormous  ab- 
sorbtive  power  of  their  roots.  The  interposition  of  forest,  streaks 
of  timber,  and  even  rows  of  sunflowers,  has  frequently  and  in 
different  countries  been  credited  with  the  demarcation  of  epi- 
demics. 

The  permanent  injury  to  the  health  of  cities  arises  from  the 
deterioration  of  the  soil  through  the  water  and  air  contained  and 
absorbed  in  it.  The  ground  upon  which  our  dwellings  are  erected, 
consists  of  loosely  aggregated  gravel,  limestone  flags  and  sand, 
very  frequently,  and  to  the  disgrace  of  our  city  administration, 
of  vast  accumulations  of  debris  and  street  sweepings.  Even  there, 
where  solid  rock  forms  the  foundation,  hollows,  crevices  and  de- 


ARBORICULTURE    AND    HORTICULTURE. 


pressions  are  filled  with  such  loose  material.  In  these  interstices 
are  contained  considerable  quantities  of  air,  which  even  in  very 
compact  gravelly  soil  constitutes  one  third  of  its  volume.  When- 
ever water  penetrates  into  the  soil,  it  displaces  the  air,  either  in 
part  or  entirely,  and  seeps  into  the  depth  until  it  meets  an  imper- 
vious stratum,  upon  which  it  flows  along  until  it  flows  off  with 
the  general  drainage  of  the  country,  or  reappears  in  lower  situated 
springs  and  wells.  The  water  during  this  passage  carries  with 
it  all  substances  which  can  either  be  floated  or  dissolved ;  princi- 
pally organic  remains  or  excretions.  The  oxygen  of  the  air 
largely  contained  in  the  porous  soil,  combines  with  those  sub- 
stances, decomposing  them.  Hereby  are  formed  large  quantities 
of  gaseous  substances,  like  carbonic  oxyd  and  carbonic  acid,  am- 
monia, nitric  oxyd,  hydro-sulphates,  and  so  on.  As  long  as  this 
decomposition  is  effected  completely,  little  injury  can  result. 
The  quantity  of  impurities  which  the  soil  neutralizes  may  some- 
times be  very  great,  and  depends  altogether  upon  its  mineral 
nature,  which  is  the  greatest  in  clayey  soils.  Sooner  or  later  a 
"state  of  saturation"  takes  place,  and  the  use  of  water  thus  defiled 
contains  the  germs  of  a  host  of  diseases,  cholera,  dysentery,  typhus. 

Not  less  deleterious  are  the  gases  arising  from  such  soil,  carried 
upwards  by  various  forces.  Solid  or  liquid  substances,  by  their 
conversion  into  gases,  expand  and  occupy  much  greater  volumes; 
the  motion  of  the  wind  and  the  heating  of  the  surface  from  solar 
radiation,  have  the  same  effect.  Such  gases  are  different  from 
those  produced  by  combustion  through  oxygen,  being  products  of 
putrid  fermentation,  and  abounding  in  disease-creating  germs. 
It  is  evident  that  covering  all  surfaces  wherever  practicable  with 
sods,  must  greatly  counteract  or  avert  these  evils. 

The  unendurable  heat  of  a  southern  desert-region  is  proverbial. 
Every  particle  of  heat  radiated  upon  it  by  the  sun  is  either  accu- 
mulating in  the  soil,  reflected  or  radiated.  Surfaces  covered  with 
vegetation  annihilate  heat,  so  to  speak,  in  proportion  to  the  mass 
of  the  vegetation.  For,  the  solar  rays  in  contact  with  vegetable 
tissues,  are  converted  into  chemical  action,  and  effect  thereby  the 
growth  of  tissue. 

Cities  are  in  one  sense  miniature  deserts,  and  it  would  be  an 
inappreciable  gain  to  the  health  and  comfort  of  the  citizens,  if 
they  would  rear  climbing  and  trailing  plants  in  profusion.  The 


ARBORICULTURE    AND    HORTICULTURE. 


temperature  would  be  lowered  in  the  immediate  vicinity  in  day 
time,  and  the  radiating  walls  would  not  fill  by  night  the  interior 
of  houses  with  smothering  heat.  Prolonged  high  temperatures 
are  productive  of  malignant  forms  of  diseases. 

Such  vine-covered  trellises  could  be  advantageously  applied  in 
confined  and  narrow  localities,  where  trees  would  obstruct  the 
circulation  of  the  aerial  currents,  or  be  otherwise  in  the  way. 
Windows  are  very  easily  kept  clear  from  being  overrun  from 
vines,  and  the  free  access  of  air  and  light  into  the  apartments  is 
not  cut  off,  as  is  often  the  case  with  trees,  when  they  are  either 
planted  too  close  to  the  house,  or  if  such  kinds  are  chosen  which 
are  unsuitable  from  too  large  dimensions.  Houses  too  much 
shaded  are  surrounded  with  an  atmosphere  of  stagnant  air  and 
are  damp  and  mouldy. 

The  irregularity  of  the  original  plan  of  this  city,  the  rugged  ness 
of  the  surface,  which  presents  in  many  places  the  naked  rock  or 
but  a  thin  coating  of  soil,  make  uniformity  in  planting  of  trees 
along  streets  and  avenues  utterly  impossible.  Fifteen  feet  dis- 
tance from  a  wall  is  the  nearest  a  tree  of  middle  size  ought  to  be- 
planted.  Where  the  pavements  are  only  nine  feet  wide  and  the 
building  close  up  to  them,  climbers  writh  or  without  trellis  work 
should  exclusively  be  used.  Small  courtyards  should  never  con- 
tain any  trees,  but  if  the  enclosing  walls  are  covered  over  with 
ivy,  which  thrives  Avell  in  shaded  situations,  it  will  be  pleasant  to 
the  eye,  and  air  and  light  will  not  be  shut  out. 

However,  all  the  benefit  that  may  result  from  judicious  tree- 
planting,  covering  by  trellises  and  sodding  of  the  ground,  cannot 
overcome  the  miasmatic  emanations  from  adjoining  swamps  and 
morasses,  nor  prevent  the  ingress  of  sirocco-like  blasts  from  the 
neighboring  stony  heights,  south  and  south-west  from  the  city. 
The  ponds  ought  to  be  drained  and  the  desolate  hills  and  wastes 
covered  with  suitable  growth.  Presently  wide  spaces  intervene 
of  open  and  unshaded  ground  between  the  city  and  the  nearest 
accessible  grove  or  forest.  The  healthy  and  harmless  pleasure  of 
enjoying  a  walk  in  the  open  air,  sheltered  against  the  hot  sun  and 
unpleasant  winds,  or  more  distant  excursions  on  foot,  is  not  at- 
tainable here.  Human  nature  needs  and  seeks  diversitv  and 
enjoyment,  and  if  the  avenues  to  legitimate  pleasures  are  closed, 
the  morals  and  social  feelings  will  become  sadly  affected. 


AKBORICULTUKE    AND    HORTICULTURE. 


A  number  of  our  citizens  will  visit  the  Paris  Exposition  this^ 
year.  They  will  carry  home  with  them  unextinguishable  impres- 
sions of  the  public  spirit  that  animates  the  French  people.  At 
every  step  and  turn  they  can  see  and  learn  how  much  happier 
men  live  and  look  with  an  openhearted  and  social  disposition, 
compared  with  those  prone  to  anxious  seclusion  and  rank  de- 
marcation. Even  religious  devotion  is  not  apt  to  dull  with  them 
the  gay  colors  of  life,  and  the  pious  visitor  of  the  high  mass  in 
the  Madeleine  or  Notre  Dame,  enjoys  in  the  following  hours,  with 
equal  sincerity  the  earthly  pleasures  of  the  Champs  Elysees,  Bois 
de  Boulogne  and  other  attractions  of  this  brightest  and  most 
beautiful  of  all  cities.  In  magnificence  and  number  of  public 
gardens  and  parks,  in  taste,  and  means  of  execution  of  adornment, 
the  French  capital  takes  the  lead.  Perhaps  the  noblest  feature 
of  Parisian  gardening  or  Parisian  improvements,  is  the  great 
abundance  of  healthy  young  trees  that  are  introduced  into  the 
very  heart  of  the  city,  and  planted  wherever  a  new  road  or  bou- 
levard is  constructed.  It  is  indeed  very  surprising  to  see  how 
well  this  is  done,  and  to  what  an  extent,  as  well  in  the  centre  of 
Paris,  on  the  boulevards,  along  the  Seine,  as  on  the  scores  of 
miles  of  suburban  boulevards,  radiating  avenues  and  roads,  the 
sides  of  which  one  would  think  capable  of  supplying  Paris  with 
building  ground  for  a  dozen  generations  to  come.  All  the  plant- 
ing in  all  the  London  parks  is  as  nothing  compared  to  the  avenue 
and  boulevard  planting  in  and  around  Paris.  Every  tree  is  trained 
and  pruned  so  as  to  form  a  symmetrical  straight-ascending  head, 
with  a  clean  stem.  Every  tree  is  protected  by  a  slight  cast-iron 
or  stick  basket,  neat  wads  and  ties  preventing  this  from  rubbing- 
against  the  tree  injuriously;  it  is  staked  when  young,  and  when 
old,  if  necessary.  Most  important  of  all,  nearly  every  tree  is 
fortified  with  a  cast-iron  grating  six  feet  wide  or  so,  which  effec- 
tually prevents  the  ground  from  becoming  hard  about  the  trees 
in  the  most  frequented  thoroughfares,  permits  of  any  attention 
they  may  require  when  young,  and  of  abundance  of  water  being 
quickly  absorbed  in  summer.  The  expense  for  these  strong  and 
wide  gratings  must  be  something  immense,  but  the  result  more 
than  pays  for  all  the  expense  by  the  grateful  shade  and  beauty 
they  afford  in  all  parts  of  the  city.  The  kinds  most  in  use  there  for 
avenues  are  the  Plane,  Sycamore,  Maple,  Chestnut,  large-leaved 


8  ARBORICULTURE    AND    HORTICULTURE. 

Elm,  the  Robinia  and  Ailanthus,  and  here  and  there,  Pawlonia. 
All  streets  more  than  twenty-six  meters  (eighty-five  feet)  wide, 
are  bordered  on  each  side  by  rows  of  trees.  If  thirty-six  meters 
(one  hundred  and  eighteen  feet)  wide,  there  is  a  double  row ;  and 
if  forty  meters  (one  hundred  and  fifty  feet),  there  is  usually  a 
plateau  in  the  middle,  with  a  carriage  way  and  side  walk  on  each 
.side.  The  trees  are  set  at  least  five  meters  (nearly  seventeen  feet) 
from  the  houses,  and  they  are  five  meters  apart  and  1.5  meters 
from  the  borders  of  the  walks.  The  gardens,  squares  or  planted 
places  (besides  the  four  great  promenades  of  the  Boisde  Boulogne, 
the  Pare  de  Buttes-Chaumont,  the  Bois  de  Vincennes,  and  the 
Pare  de  Montsouris,  together  amounting  to  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  thirty-five  hectares),  are  seventy-four  in  number, 
amounting  to  fifty -seven  hectares. 

All  operations  in  horticulture  must  be  carried  on  in  strict  ac- 
cordance with  the  laws  of  vegetable  growth,  or  damage  and  failure 
will  follow.  Trees  and  shrubs  for  transplanting  should  be  started 
from  the  seed.  Only  certain  sports,  that  have  originated  in  lateral 
shoots  or  branches  of  an  otherwise  normal  growth,  make  an  excep- 
tion, and  can  only  be  preserved  and  multiplied  with  the  preservation 
of  their  sport-character  by  cuttings ;  otherwise  they  would  re- 
lapse again  into  the  original  normal  form.  Seedlings  have  to  be 
transplanted  once  or  twice  and  remain  in  the  nursery,  until  they 
have  attained  a  suitable  size  tor  permanent  planting.  The  age  at 
which  their  growth  is  accomplished  varies  according  to  species 
or  kind  of  tree,  three  or  four  years  from  sowing  being  the  usual 
length  of  time  required.  The  cheapest  and  best  way  to  obtain 
young  trees  is,  to  purchase  them  in  nurseries,  where  they  are 
reared  on  an  extensive  scale.  Trees  ;lug  up  at  random  in  the 
forest  ought  positively  to  be  rejected,  because  their  roots  are 
generally  too  irregular  and  without  the  sufficient  number  of  fibrous 
or  working  roots.  Furthermore,  a  large  proportion  of  them  are 
so  tall  that  their  unproportionatc  length  has  to  be  reduced  by 
topping,  whereby  the  circulation  of  the  sap  becomes  more  or  less 
interrupted,  and  the  tree  will  never  thrive  well.  Another  mis- 
take is  the  transplanting  of  too  old  trees.  It  takes  very  partic- 
ular prepartions  in,  and  close  attention  after,  transplanting  in  such 
cases.  To  trim  down  the  limbs  and  top  and  transport  them  with 
greatly  injured  roots,  will  so  much  stunt  them  that  they  succumb 


AHHORKTI/rURE    AND    HORTICULTURE. 


after  a  protracted  illness,  presenting  a  pitiable  aspect  while  stand- 
ing. By  the  respiration  carried  on  in  the  foliage,  the  circulation 
in  the  cambium,  as  well  as  the  absorption  of  food  and  moisture 
by  the  roots,  is  secured.  As  soon  as  the  ascent  and  circulation 
of  sap  in  and  up  through  the  cambium  is  arrested,  then  the  heat 
and  the  winds  will  dry  up  and  shrivel  the  cells  and  spiral  vessels 
in  a  manner  to  render  them  permanently  impervious,  and  the 
pealing  or  cracking  of  the  bark  and  decay  follows  immediately. 
Partial  decay  of  the  trunk  is  frequently  the  cause  of  the  breaking 
down  of  trees  from  high  winds. 

To  prepare  the  ground  for  transplanting,  a  hole  ought  to  be 
dug  about  three  feet  deep  and  three  feet  square,  if  possible  a  good 
while  before  transplanting,  to  cause  the  earth  thrown  up  at  the 
side  of  the  pit  to  become  thoroughly  loosened  from  exposure  to 
air  and  heat  or  cold.  For  every  tree  a  stout  stake  should  be 
ready,  either  of  cedar  or  oak-heart  wood,  at  least  three  inches  in 
diameter  and  ten  feet  in  length.  This  stake  is  to  be  firmly  in- 
serted in  the  bottom  of  the  pit,  to  the  south  side  and  close  up  to 
the  point  where  the  trunk  of  the  tree  is  to  stand.  It  being  fixed 
perpendicular,  the  soil  formerly  thrown  out,  must  be  replaced 
again  nearly  or  quite  to  the  brim  of  the  pit.  On  top  of  the  loose 
soil  the  roots  of  the  sapling  should  be  carefully  spread,  and  cov- 
ered with  the  balance  of  the  thrown  up  soil.  After  a  turned  up 
sod  has  been  placed  over,  a  good  watering  should  be  given. 
Lastly,  the  tree  is  tied  to  the  stake  with  osier  or  soft  cordage. 
In  all  exposed  situations  a  box  or  basket,  of  iron  or  slats,  or  an 
envelope  with  thorns  from  the  osage  orange  or  honey  locust,  fas- 
tened with  wire,  may  be  put  around  for  protection. 

To  secure  a  regular  growth  and  to  prevent  the  breaking  down 
of  limbs  or  entire  trees  by  storms,  judicious  trimming  is  required. 
It  is  applicable  by  all  deciduous  trees,  and  in  some  of  the  broad- 
leaved  evergreens,  but  never  by  the  conifers.  Whenever  per- 
formed, the  cutting  must  be  done  close  to  the  trunk,  never  leaving 
a  projecting  part.  Nature  has  provided  in  a  living  tree,  for  the 
repair  of  wounds  by  the  deposit  of  new  wood  from  around  the 
edges,  which  gradually  closes  over  the  injury,  and  when  wholly 
united,  the  annual  deposit  of  wood  goes  on  regularly,  as  if  nothing 
had  occurred  to  prevent  it.  A  sharp  knife  or  saw  should  be  used, 
cutting  first  on  the  under  side  to  prevent  the  tearing  down  of  the 


10  ARBORICULTURE    AND    HORTICULTURE. 


bark  and  wood,  when  the  limb  is  dropping.  When  finished,  the 
cutting  should  be  smooth  and  vertical,  and  the  surface  be  painted 
over  with  thick  coal  tar.  The  proper  time  for  trimming  and 
pruning  of  trees  and  vines,  the  grapevine  included,  is  the  close  of 
autumn,  after  all  the  leaves  have  fallen;  and  the  season  best 
adapted  for  transplanting  deciduous  trees  as  well  as  evergreens,, 
is  early  in  the  spring,  as  soon  as  the  frost  is  out  of  the  ground. 
Especially  by  evergreens  great  care  must  be  taken  to  transplant 
them  with  a  good  ball  of  earth,  and  to  avoid  the  loosening,  break- 
ing and  drying  of  the  fine  rootlets. 

The  climbing  or  trailing  vines  do  either  possess  proper  organs 
for  direct  attachment  on  smooth  surfaces,  or  depend  on  some  sort 
of  suitable  support  for  the  attachment  of  tendrils  or  twining  stems. 
For  the  latter  kinds,  a  spalier  of  lattice  work  or  wire  trellises  are 
employed.  The  stretching  of  galvanized  wire  on  walls  is  the 
cheapest  and  neatest  looking  method.  In  the  first  instance,  sev- 
eral strong  iron  spikes  are  driven  into  the  wall  at  the  ends — in 
the  right  angle  formed  by  the  two  walls,  and  then  rough  nails  or 
rather  hooks  are  driven  into  the  wall  in  straight  lines,  exactly  in 
the  line  of  direction  in  which  the  wire  is  wanted  to  pass.  The 
wires  are  placed  at  about  ten  inches  apart  on  the  walls,  and  the 
little  hooks  for  their  support  are  placed  at  about  ten  feet  apart 
along  each  wire.  The  wire — about  as  thick  as  strong  twine — is 
passed  through  the  little  hooks,  fastened  at  both  ends  of  the  wall> 
into  the  strong  iron  nails,  and  then  stretched  as  tight  as  possible. 
Their  distance  from  the  wall  should  be  about  one  inch. 

To  answer  the  question,  what  trees,  shrubs  or  ornamental  plants 
to  select,  an  acquaintance  with  the  natural  growth  or  flora  of  the 
region  must  precede,  and  the  results  of  experiments  with  imported 
plants  awaited  or  noted.  To  discuss  the  relative  merits  of  all  the 
material  that  could  possibly  be  adduced,  would  require  volumes. 
Happily  nature  has  so  lavishly  endowed  this  region,  that  we 
could  fare  no  better  by  traveling  great  distances,  than  by  con- 
fining ourselves  to  the  immediate  vicinity.  The  composition  of 
the  soil  and  configuration  of  surface  are  sufficiently  diversified  to 
insure  a  great  diversity  of  vegetation  to  select  from.  The  moist 
and  shady  banks  of  the  river,  the  hot  and  airy  limestone  flats 
with  a  thin  coat  of  earth,  alternating  with  fertile,  deep  and  loamy 
soil,  formerly  heavy  timbered,  and  high  ridges  coped  with  sili- 


ARBORICULTURE    AND    HORTICULTURE.  11 


ceous  and  shistaceous  rocks,  each  possesses  their  peculiar  assem- 
bly of  plants.  The  area  of  the  City  itself  retains  only  few  native 
old  trees,  remains  and  witnesses  of  the  pioneer  age.  A  few  Cedars, 
Hackberries,  Elms,  Honey  Locusts  and  Poplars.  The  number 
of  trees  planted  and  now  within  the  city  boundaries,  estimated  at 
medium  growth,  would  fully  suffice  for  shade  and  shelter  and 
absorbers  of  moisture,  etc.,  provided  they  were  properly  distrib- 
uted ;  but  there  is  great  lack  in  arrangement,  and  the  selection  is 
not  from  the  best  kinds. 

SELECTION    OF    TREES    AND    PLANTS. 

The  selection  of  trees  for  street,  garden  or  park  ought  never  to 
be  entrusted  to  the  recommendations  of  nurserymen,  or  be  gov- 
erned by  offerings  of  good  bargains.  Purchasing  unsuitable  or 
unhealthy  specimens,  one  loses  not.  only  money  but  also  time. 
Foremost,  the  size  which  a  given  species  will  attain  at  full  growth,, 
ought  to  be  considered.  Sycamores  and  Tulip  trees  would  be  out 
of  all  proportion  in  streets  and  avenues  less  than  one  hundred 
feet  wide.  Very  desirable  properties  are  a  clean  and  smooth 
trunk,  regular  division  of  branches,  and  a  spherical  or  conical 
outline  of  crown.  Roots  horizontal,  not  too  much  prone  to  suck- 
ering.  Wood  strong  and  elastic,  especially  in  the  branches ;  fo- 
liage abundant,  the  leaves  smooth  and  not  too  large.  Evergreen, 
broad-leaved  trees,  wherever  they  can  be  grown  and  maintained, 
deserve  preference ;  next,  those  deciduous  trees  which  hold  their 
foliage  the  longest. 

The  flora  of  this  immediate  vicinity  excels  in  an  array  of  the 
most  desirable  trees  for  street  and  park  planting.  For  adornment 
of  gardens  and  parks,  the  intermixture  of  such  forms  which  do- 
not  occur  in  the  local  flora,  and  are  of  striking  aspect  from  gro- 
tesqueness  of  shape  or  diversity  in  coloring — is  exceedingly  effect- 
ive. Such  plants,  when  derived  from  sub-tropical  climates,  will, 
in  favorable  locations  and  with  protection,  frequently  endure  our 
winters. 

Some  interchange  and  dissemination  of  vegetable  productions 
between  remote  regions  did  nearly  always  exist,  along  the  high- 
ways of  commerce  and  conquest;  but,  not  more  than  about  two 
hundred  years  ago  did  the  importation  of  plants  into  the  gardens 
and  parks  of  the  civilized  nations  assume  any  importance.  Wher- 


12  ARBORICULTURE    AND    HORTICULTURE. 


ever  European  Governments  held  territory  in  tropical  countries 
and  established  Colonies,  there  they  also  planted  for  the  produc- 
tion of  colonial  goods.  Peruvian  Cinchona  in  India,  Abyssinian 
Coffee  in  Brazil,  Oranges  from  Portugal  in  Florida.  Several 
of  the  German  States,  where  the  culture  and  control  of  forests 
is  in  the  hands  of  the  government,  do  already  possess  extensive 
plantations  of  the  ftequoia  Sempervirens,  or  Mammoth  tree  of  the 
California  coast,  and  of  the  Sequoia  Gigantea,  or  Giant  Redwood 
of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  of  which  they  had  several  thousand  dollars' 
worth  of  seed  imported  some  thirty  or  forty  years  ago.  With 
equal  success  has  the  European  larch  been  grown  in  the  Northern 
States,  and  it  thrives  there  as  well  as  in  the  German  Alps  or  in 
Scotland.  Its  timber  is  far  superior  to  the  American  species, 
and  said  to  make  the  best  railroad  ties ;  larch  plantations  are 
considered  very  profitable  investments.  To  give  the  public  and 
the  student  an  opportunity  to  study  the  characteristics  of  vegeta- 
tion, botanical  gardens,  and  for  trees  exclusively,  arboreta,  have 
to  be  established.  The  latter  ought  to  contain  collections  of  trees 
from  all  parts  of  the  world,  which  are  known  or  expected  to  en- 
dure the  climate  of  the  place.  The  gardens  and  grounds  of  the 
Agricultural  Department  in  Washington  have  the  greatest  extent 
of  their  area  converted  into  such  an  arboretum.  One  of  the  larg- 
est and  finest  collections  of  this  kind  in  the  United  States,  consti- 
tutes one  department  of  the  Missouri  botanical  garden,  and  is  the 
property  of  a  wealthy  citizen  of  St.  Louis,  Mr.  Henry  Shaw. 
These  grounds  are  situated  about  two  miles  south-west  of  Lafay- 
ette park  in  that  city,  and  are  probably  unsurpassed  bv  any  in 
the  United  States,  either  public  or  private,  in  their  extent,  their 
beauty,  the  completeness  of  collection  of  plants,  shrubs,  and  trees, 
or  the  skillful  cultivation  and  the  lavish  expense  bestowed  upon 
them.  Open  to  the  public,  they  are  a  great  aid  to  the  advance- 
ment of  science,  the  instruction  of  the  student,  and  the  use  of  the 
naturalist  and  philosopher. 

The  first  botanical  garden  in  America  was  laid  out  by  John  Bar- 
tram,  the  father  of  American  Botany,  on  the  banks  of  the  Schuyl- 
kill,  near  Philadelphia,  more  than  a  century  ago.  Of  Public 
Pleasure  Grounds,  Central  Park  in  New  York  City,  and  Fairmount 
Park  in  Philadelphia,  bave  acquired  great  reputation  as  examples 
of  the  greatest  perfection  in  the  art  of  Landscape-Gardening. 


ARBORICULTURE    AND    HORTICULTURE. 


After  the  preceding  general  remarks  on  tree-planting  in  streets 
and  parks,  it  remains  to  enumerate  and  describe  some  species 
which,  in  every  respect,  appear  to  me  the  most  worthy  and  prom- 
ising for  planting  in  the  streets  of  the  city.  Landscape  or  park 
plantations  admit  of  such  a  diversity  of  species  that  it  is  impossi- 
ble even  to  mention  their  names  within  the  scope  of  a  small  trea- 
tise. I  will  also  name  a  few  sub-tropical  plants  which  have  given 
satisfaction  in  this  place,  and  some  native  and  foreign  flowering 
plants  suitable  for  flower  beds;  next,  the  vines  and  climbers  for 
trelliswork. 

Not  without  much  deliberation,  and  under  the  impression  of 
very  recent  observations  on  a  botanical  tour  through  the  middle 
and  eastern  parts  of  this  State,  I  have  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  for  street  planting 

THE  WATER  OAK  (QuercMs  aquatica,  Catesb.)  deserves  prefer- 
ence before  all  other  trees  I  am  acquainted  with,  native  as  well  as 
foreign.  It  is  an  Evergreen  of  medium  size,  not  exceeding  thirty 
or  thirty-five  feet  in  height,  and  twelve  to  eighteen  inches  in  di- 
ameter in  full  growth.  Leaves  of  an  olive-green  color,  short- 
petioled,  obovate-oblong  or  wedge-shaped,  smooth  on  both  sides, 
obtusely  three-lobed  at  the  summit.  Acorns  small,  sessile.  It 
grows  not  only  on  the  edge  of  streams  and  in  swamps,  whence  its 
name  originates,  but  also  very  vigorously  on  dry  and  elevated 
grounds,  where  I  have  found  it  myself.  It  abounds,  always  in- 
termingled with  other  trees,  in  some  parts  of  this  State.  It  is 
found  about  Stephenson,  Chattanooga,  Ocoee  district.  Moreover, 
we  are  not  without  a  precedent  of  the  successful  introduction  of 
this  species  for  street  planting.  The  city  of  Tuscaloosa,  Alabama, 
is  sometimes  called  the  city  of  oaks,  on  account  of  the  fine  ave- 
nues of  the  water  oak  planted  in  a  central  line  and  along  the  sides 
of  the  streets.  On  the  northern  limits  of  its  range  it  becomes 
deciduous,  and  also  in  severe  winters  in  this  place. 

THE  WILLOW  OAK  (Quercus  Phettos  L.)  grows  in  similar  lo- 
calities, and  even  associated  with  the  water  oak ;  it  grows  about 
the  same  size,  or  a  little  larger,  and  has  a  clean  and  smooth  bark. 
Leaves,  two  to  three  inches  long,  lanceolate  or  linear-lanceolate, 
bristle-awned,  smooth  and  light-green  on  both  sides ;  fruit  small 
and  sessil.  An  elegant  tree,  desirable  for  its  distinct  willow-like 
aspect.  The  foliage  of  both  these  species  being  rather  small,  and 


14  ARBORICULTURE    AND    HORTICULTURE. 

the  spray  very  elastic,  they  are  not  endangered  from  heavy  winds 
or  snow-fulls  like  the  evergreen  magnolia.  It  is  evergreen  south. 

Of  other  oaks  only  the  Live  Oak  (Quercus  virens,  Ait.)  and  the 
Upland  Willow  Oak  (  ^//r/w/.s  '-///rm/,  Michx.),  the  former  ever- 
green, are  worth  considering,  but  of  doubtful  success. 

Next  to  the  oak,  the  symbol  of  strength  and  valor,  stands  the 
Elm  for  gracefulness  and  elegance.  The  elm  is  one  of  the  most 
common  trees  in  both  continents,  and  in  the  south  of  Europe 
elms  are  planted  in  vineyards,  and  the  vines  trained  in  festoons 
from  tree  to  tree  in  the  most  picturesque  manner.  Their  ramifi- 
cation terminates  in  light  and  dark  and  very  copious  sprigs,  fre- 
quently bending  down  in  graceful  curves.  The  oldest  American 
avenues  are  planted  in  elms.  The  vicinity  of  Nashville  abounds 
in  elms,  of  which  four  species  are  represented. 

THE  AMERICAN  OR  WHITE  ELM  (Ulmus  Americana,  L.)  buds 
-and  branchlets  glabrous,  leaves  oval,  three  to  four  inches  long, 
sharply  and  often  doubly  serrate,  flowers  in  close  fascicles.  Found 
in  greatest  perfection  in  moist  woods,  with  deep  rich  soil,  where 
it  attains  a  height  of  eighty  feet. 

THE  CORKY  WHITE  ELM.  ( U.  racemosa,  Thomas.)  Bud- 
scales  downy,  ciliate,  and  somewhat  pubescent,  as  are  the  young 
branchlets;  branches  often  with  corky  ridges;  flowers  racemed. 

WAHOO,  OR  WINGED  ELM.  ( U.  alata,  Michx.)  Grows  here  to 
great  perfection,  and  is  easily  known  by  its  corky-winged  branches; 
leaves  downy  beneath,  ovate-oblong,  acute,  tickish,  small,  one  to 
two  and  a  half  inches  long,  deep  green  and  shining.  Height, 
thirty  to  forty  feet,  with  very  delicate  ramifications,  light  and 
airy ;  it  does  not  make  a  deep  shade.  The  Slippery  Elm  ( U.  fulva 
Michx)  is  perhaps  less  eligible. 

THE  HACK  BERRY.  (Celtis  occidental™,  L.,  and  Celtis  Mississip- 
yv/o/N/A1,  jBo-s-c.)  These  are  both  very  common  trees  in  this  region, 
and  numbers  of  specimens  that  have  been  spared  have  grown 
from  self-sown  seedlings  to  large  dimensions.  It  seems  to  thrive 
very  well  in  stony  and  open  localities,  and  is  not  injured  by  dust 
and  smoke.  In  picturesqueness  it  is  about  equal  to  the  elm. 

THE  LIME  OR  LINDEN  TREE.  (Tilia  Americana,  L.  and  Tilia 
heterophytta,  rent.)  The  latter  is  common  in  the  Nashville  flora. 
These  trees  are  well  known  by  the  name  of  basswood.  It  is  a 
rapidly  growing,  handsome,  and  regularly  shaped  tree.  In  Eu- 


AKBORICULTURE    AND    HORTICULTURE.  15 

rope  they  have  since  centuries  been  favorites  for  planting  in  public 
places.  In  Germany  and  Holland  especially  their  wide  avenues 
and  long  lines  of  canals  are  bordered  with  lindens.  "  Under  den 
Linden"  in  Berlin  is  the  most  celebrated  avenue  .in  the  world. 
This  tree  is  also  distinguished  by  simple  but  handsome  flowers, 
that  last  a  long  time,  and  diffuse  a  delicious  perfume.  The  honey 
gathered  from  its  flowers  is  very  highly  esteemed.  The  flowers, 
collected  with  bracts  and  peduncles,  when  dried,  yield  a  very  pleas- 
ant tea,  which  produces  diaphoresis  without  vascular  or  nervous 
•excitement.  The  addition  of  lemon  juice  makes  it  very  palat- 
able. 

THE  KENTUCKY  COFFEE  TREE,  .((rymnocladus  Canadensut) 
This  remarkable  tree  wins  the  amplest  admiration  from  everybody 
who  meets  it  the  first  time  on  the  outskirts  of  a  forest,  where  it 
finds  room  for  the  development  of  its  branches.  The  whole  leaf, 
doubly  compound,  is  generally  three  feet  long,  the  leaflts  standing 
vertically.  It  belongs  to  the  order  of  the  Leguminosae,  and  its 
flowers  are  either  dioecious  or  polygamous,  whitish,  in  axillary 
racemes,  fragrant.  The  pods  are  six  to  ten  inches  long,  two  inches 
broad,  and  the  seeds  over  half  inch  across.  It  requires  judicious 
pruning  while  young,  to  prevent  the  breaking  down  of  the  young 
limbs  from  violent  storms.  It  is  indigenous  round  Nashville. 

The  Maples,  I  think,  come  next.  They  are  held  everywhere 
in  great  esteem  as  ornamental  trees,  their  merits  consisting  in 
the  rapidity  of  their  growth,  the  beauty  of  their  form,  and  the 
verdure  of  their  foliage,  to  which  is  added  by  some  the  elegance 
of  their  blossoms. 

THE  RED  MAPLE,  also  called  Swamp  Maple  (Acer  rubrum,  L.), 
is  decidedly  the  most  ornamental  and  of  more  suitable  size,  as  the 
other  two  southern  species  grow  rather  too  large.  In  spring  this 
tree  bursts  out  in  gay  tufts  of  red  blossoms,  which  give  life  and 
color  to  the  landscape,  when  the  only  other  appearances  of  vegeta- 
tion are  a  few  catkins  of  willows  and  poplars.  It  is  very  prolific 
in  foliage,  and  gives  an  ample  and  abundant  shade.  The  verdure 
of  its  vernal  clothing  is  wonderfully  contrasted  by  the  golden  and 
scarlet  hues  of  the  matured  foliage  in  autumn. 

THE  Box  ELDKI;  (  Xn/timlo  arcrnnk's,  Moench),  also  called  Ash- 
leaved  Maple,  has  only  lately  been  botanically  distinguished  from 
the  maples.  Linnaeus  named  it  Acer  Negundo.  It  is,  on  uplands, 


16  ARBORICULTURE  AND  HORTICULTURE. 

a  middle-sized  tree,  but  on  the  river  banks  it  grows  to  consider- 
able dimensions.  Unlike  the  rest  of  the  maples,  it  has  pinnate 
leaves,  with  three  or  five  leaflets ;  male  and  female  flowers  arc 
borne  on  different  trees,  as  in  the  persimmon  (dioedou*).  It  is 
a  very  hardy  and  durable  tree,  retaining  its  pendant  racemes  of 
of  seeds  during  the  whole  summer.  It  is  very  frequent  in  this 
neighborhood. 

THE  YELLOW-WOOD.  (('IdiJi-uxfw  tinctorm,  Raf.)  Next  to 
the  coffee  tree,  the  most  beautiful  of  the  papilionaeous  family. 
It  grows,  when  standing  single,  more  into  lateral  expansion,  and 
I  have  measured  a  specimen  on  Judge  Lea's  lands  which,  by  over 
three  feet  diameter  of  trunk,  was  little  more  than  thirty  feet  high. 
It  bears  nearly  smooth  pinnate  leaves  of  seven  to  eleven  oval 
leaflets,  and  ample  panicled  racemes  of  showy  white  flowers,  droop- 
ing from  the  end  of  the  branches.  The  wood  is  yellow  and  the 
bark  gray,  shining  and  very  smooth.  It  is  very  remarkable  for 
its  prolixity  in  budding,  eyes  and  shoots  bursting  forth  from  all 
points  of  trunk  and  roots.  I  consider  it  as  fine  a  tree  as  the  com- 
-mon  locust,  which  it  resembles,  and  the  latter  is  generally  not  a 
healthy  tree  in  city  localities. 

Some  species  of  the  ash,  like  the  red  ash  (Fraxinu*,  pubescent 
Lam.),  and  the  green  ash  (Frd.cinttx  riritU*,  Michx.},  both  produced 
in  this  State,  are  very  desirable  trees,  of  moderate  proportions, 
pleasing  structure  of  ramifications  and  foliage,  and  more  adapted 
to  our  purposes  than  the  Ailanthus. 

THE  PRIDE  OF  INDIA  (Melia  Azedemch,  L.),  has  been  much 
neglected  of  late,  and  it  is  nearly  disappearing.  It  must  be  re- 
membered that  this  region  forms  nearly  the  northern  limit  of  its 
range,  and  although  it  attains  full  growth,  and  is  hardly  ever 
killed  by  frost,  yet  it  does  not  attain  a  higher  age  than  about 
thirty  or  forty  years,  when  it  begins  to  decay. 

The  Pride  of  India  rises  to  the  height  of  thirty  or  forty  feet, 
with  a  diameter  of  fifteen  or  twenty  inches,  but  when  standing 
single  it  grows  more  in  lateral  expansion.  Its  leaves  are  of  a 
dark  green  color,  large,  double  pinnate,  and  composed  of  smooth, 
acuminate,  denticulate  leaflets.  It  has  been  at  a  very  early  dav 
introduced  into  the  Carolinas  and  the  West  Indies,  where  it  now 
abounds. 

The  reverse  position  is  held  by  the  Lombardy  Poplar  (Poputu* 


ARBOKKTT/ITKK    AND    I  K  >Hrn<  T  I/n*H  E. 


j'«xf!(/i(tt(t},  which,  in  cooler  climates,  is  an  excellent  tree  for  ave- 
nues, and  attains  a  height  of  eighty  and  more  feet  by  three  feet 
diameter.  But  even  there  this  tree  does  not  attain  a  higher  age 
than  forty  to  sixty  years,  longevity  not  being  given  to  the  order 
of  the  tiaficiiK'de,  to  which  it  belongs.  They  excel  in  rapidity  of 
growth.  Whosoever  chooses  to  plant  this  tree  must  be  ready  for 
constant  replanting  as  soon  as  it  shows  signs  of  decay. 

THE  CATALPA.  ^Caiaipa  Kgnomoidee,  U'filt.)  A  well  known 
beautiful  tree,  covered  in  beginning  of  summer  with  large  racemes 
of  gorgeous  white  flowers — is  not  fitted  for  street  planting.  It 
far  excells  in  beauty  the  common  horse-chestnut  (Aet»-u/nx  Ifij>jt<i- 
castanum,  L.},  whose  leaves  will  become  scorched  and  prematurely 
drop  from  the  heat  of  our  summers. 

THE  PATJLOWMA  is  a  very  decorative  species  for  certain  select 
localities,  but  for  various  reasons  it  is  one  of  the  least  adapted  for 
street  planting. 

The'species  now  following  are  those  which  have  formerly  nearly 
exclusively  been  planted  in  this  city.  For  this  reason  I  intend 
to  devote  to  them  a  more  ample  description. 

THE  PAPER  MTLBEKKY  (Ifrotatmme&'a  p(ij>i/rij'crfi)  has  been 
introduced  into  Nashville  some  forty  years  ago,  contemporaneous 
with  the  White  mulberry  (Morn*  ftlb«),  the  Morus  multicaulis  and 
the  Heaven  tree  (Ailai)llmx  (/fti/nlti/osa).  An  attempt  was  then 
made  to  raise  silk,  and  these  plants  were  intended  and  cultivated 
for  the  sake  of  supplying  food  lor  the  silkworms.  The  silk  cul- 
ture failed,  being,  as  I  think,  more  a  hobby  and  transient  excite- 
ment than  the  serious  enterprise  of  an  industrious  class  of  people 
resolved  to  establish  this  industry  for  a  profitable  support. 

The  Broussonetia  is  a  dioecious  plant,  which  means  to  say  that 
it  lias  distinct  male  and  female  flowers,  produced  on  separate  trees. 
the  males  being  in  cylindrical  drooping  catkins,  each  flower  grow- 
ing from  the  base  of  a  small  bract,  and  having  a  four-parted  calyx 
and  four  stamens,  while  the  females  are  congregated  into  round 
heads  or  balls  about  the  si/e  of  marbles,  which,  in  ripening,  are 
converted  into  deep  scarlet  pulpy  fruits,  resembling  a  mulberry, 
of  a  sweetish  insipid  taste.  We  posses-  of  this,  and  likewise  of 
the  weeping  willow,  only  the  male  tree.  It  grows  wild  in  China 
and  Japan,  and  also  in  many  of  the  islands  of  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
The  Chinese  and  Japanese  cultivate  it  very  miwh  in  the  way  we 


18  ARBORICULTURE    AND    HORTICULTURE. 


do  osiers,  using  only  the  young  shoots  for  the  manufacture  of 
paper  from  its  finely  fibrous  inner  bark.  At  the  Centennial  Ex- 
hibition such  paper  and  papier-mache  articles  were  greatly  ad- 
mired. The  process  of  manufacture  is  unknown  as  a  practical 
art  in  Europe  and  America.  From  no  other  kind  of  pulp  can  so 
elastic  and  delicate  a  tissue  be  made.  It  is  preferred  for  the  im- 
pressions of  valuable  steel  engravings. 

In  Samoa,  Tahiti,  and  other  Polynesian  islands,  the  natives 
manufacture  from  the  inner  bark  an  exceedingly  tough  cloth 
called  tapa,  and  wear  it  either  plain  or  dyed,  and  printed  in  va- 
rious colors.  This  cloth  is  principally  made  by  women,  pursuing 
the  following  method :  The  bark  is  first  soaked  in  water,  and  the 
exterior  green  parts  are  scraped  off,  and  after  a  second  soaking  in 
water  it  is  placed  upo-n  a  table  made  of  verv  hard  wood.  Upon 
this  it  is  beaten  with  a  heavy  curious-shaped  baton,  which  has 
four  flat  sides,  each  differently  ribbed.  After  the  pieces  have  at- 
tained the  desired  degree  of  softness,  mucilage  of  arrow-root  is 
applied  at  their  edges,  and  the  hammering  and  warping  continued 
until  the  edges  firmly  cohere.  In  this  way  pieces  are  made  which 
sometimes  measure  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  length  by  six  to 
nine  feet  in  width. 

The  Jli-f>i<xK<>n(>tia  promises  to  grow  here  to  considerable  dimen- 
sions. It  is  healthy  and  vigorous,  and  possesses  a  remarkable 
power  of  surviving  and  resisting  sustained  injuries.  It  is  a  great 
mistake  to  condemn  this  tree  for  its  far-reaching  roots,  which 
enable  it  to  thrive  and  resist  the  fury  of  a  storm  when  standing 
on  shallow  and  rocky  places.  It  is,  in  my  opinion,  the  best 
adapted  tree  to  replant  the  sterile  hills  around  the  city.  It  ought 
not  to  stand  in  crowded  parks  and  narrow  places.  Insects  do  not 
often  attack  it,  but  a  parasitic  fungus  (peziza),  as  large  as  a  rice 
grain,  often  covers  the  trunk  with  yellow  dots  without  injuring  it. 

THE  HEAVEN*  TREE.  (AilanMwa  gl&ndulosa,}  Native  of  China 
and  India,  growing  to  an  altitude  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two 
hundred  feet.  Young  and  luxuriantly  grown,  and  terminated  by 
a  simple  crown,  it  bears  a  striking  resemblance  to  an  arborescent 
fern  or  palm.  This  elegant  and  graceful  form  may  be  preserved 
on  the  growing  tree  by  annually  lopping  off  the  lateral  branches, 
whereby  the  main  trunk  will  ascend  perpendicularly,  and  sustain 
a  symmetrical  spreading  canopy.  The  pinnate  leaves  are  fre- 


ARBORICULTURE    AND    HORTICULTURE.  19 

quently  three  feet  long,  consisting  of  four  to  twenty  pairs  of  leaf- 
lets. It  hears  separately  mule  and  female  flowers  on  different 
trees.  The  male  and  early  deciduous  flowers  emit  a  very  disa- 
greeable odor,  which  is  carried  (o  considerable  distances,  affecting 
many  persons  with  vertigo,  headaches,  and  vomiting,  and  it  is 
therefore  advisable  not  to  plant  the  male  tree  at  all.  The  fe- 
male tree  bears  large  clusters  of  winged  seeds,  resembling  those 
of  the  ash,  of  a  golden  color  when  ripe.  They  remain  a  long 
time  upon  the  branches,  add  greatly  to  the  beauty  of  the  tree, 
and  have  no  peculiar  smell.  The  wood  of  the  Ailanthus  is  ex- 
ceedingly valuable,  its  tenacity  being  superior  to  the  best  oak, 
and  when  well  seasoned,  equal  to  the  best  timber  for  posts  and 
ties,  resisting  for  indefinite  time  changes  of  dry  ness  and  moist- 
ure. Insects  never  disturb  it,  but  nevertheless  it  is  the  habi- 
tation of  the  Attacus  cynthia,  or  Japanese  silkworm.  The  rear- 
ing of  this  silkworm  has  well  succeeded  in  France,  where  it  is 
carried  on  in  the  open  air.  The  roots  spread  and  sprout  in  all 
directions,  more  so  than  the  paper  mulberry,  and  are  a  great  nui- 
sance about  cultivated  ground.  On  the  other  hand,  this  property 
has  been  turned  to  great  profit  on  the  sand  dunes  of  Holland. 
Associated  with  the  firomsonetia,  it  would,  in  a  few  years,  cover 
with  dense  shade  the  barren  and  sterile  places  where  no  other  trees 
could  make  a  stand. 

THE  SILVER  MAPLE  (Acer  dasycarpum,  EhrK)  is  now  generally- 
preferred  for  street  planting.  The  foliage  is  sharply  three  to  five 
lobed,  and  white  on  the  lower  surface.  Its  rapid  growth  is  very 
commendable,  and  its  shape  very  good  until  it  gets  old,  when  the 
limbs  become  bulky  and  make  the  tree  look  very  much  like  a  syc- 
amore. Many  very  large  specimens  line  the  banks  of  the  Cum- 
berland above  the  city.  Unfortunately,  it  is  much  attacked  by 
various  insects,  and  the  trunks  are  frequently  blistered  and  full 
of  decaying  spots,  .which  renders  it  liable  to  severe  injuries  from 
strong  winds.  It  .is  a  very  good  shade  tree,  but  certainly  far  less 
valuable  than  the  Elm  for  street  planting. 

THE  LOCUST.  (Robinia  Pxeudo- Acacia,  fj.)  This  tree  grows 
spontaneously  over  the  whole  State,  preferring  northern  hill  slopes 
with  rich  soil.  As  long  as  young  a,nd  vigorously  growing,  it 
makes  a  good  looking  tree,  but  in  none  but  very  favored  situations 
will  it  rear-h  a  higher  age  than  about  twenty  or  twenty-five  years 


20  ARBORICULTURE    AND    HORTICULTURE. 


without  becoming  stunted  and  gradually  decaying.  In  deep 
loamy  river  soil,  with  plenty  of  moisture,  as  you  may  observe  on 
the  White's  creek  pike  west  of  Edgefield,  it  attains  a  much  higher 
age  in  full  vigor,  and  grows  in  large  dimensions  with  a  height  of 
perhaps  seventy  feet.  It  is,  for  the  above  reasons,  not  a  good  spe- 
cies for  this  city. 

Climbing  plants  ought  to  find  a  very  diversified  application 
from  the  multitude  of  very  distinct  forms  and  the  manifold  devices 
to  which  they  may  be  subservient.  Some  produce  luscious  fruit, 
some  aromatic  spices  or  wholesome  vegetables.  Climbing  plants 
are  sufficiently  numerous  to  form  a  conspicuous  feature  in  the 
vegetable  kingdom,  more  especially  in  tropical  forests.  Nearly 
two-thirds  of  all  the  phaenogamic  families  contribute  to  this  form 
of  vegetable  growth,  and  to  these  a  few  cryptogamic  plants  must 
be  added.  Our  Climbing  Fern  (Lygodium  palmahnu,  Swartz)  is 
one  of  the  few  trailing  ferns.  Physiologically  considered,  we  may 
say  that,  especially  the  more  highly  developed  tendril  bearers,  act 
with  some  kind  of  determination  or  some  degree  of  will  and  rea- 
son very  difficult  to.  the  human  mind  to  form  a  satisfactory  con- 
ception of.  The  various  kinds  of  movement  which  they  display 
in  manifest  relation  to  their  wants,  for  which  the  most  different 
organs,  stems,  branches,  flower  peduncles,  petioles,  leaflets,  and 
apparently  serial  roots,  are  all  endowed  with  the  same  power,  im- 
press, upon  us  much  reflection. 

Climbing  plants  may  be  divided  into  four  classes.  First,  those 
which  wind  spirally  round  a  support,  and  are  not  aided  by  any 
other  movement.  Secondly,  those  endowed  with  irritable  organs, 
which,  when  they  touch  any  object,  clasp  it,  such  organs  consist- 
ing of  modified  leaves,  branches,  or  flower  peduncles.  The  third 
class  ascends  by  the  aid  of  hooks,  and  those  of  the  fourth  by 
rootlets. 

A  few  of  the  most  important,  fully  sufficient  for  our  wants,  I 
let  herewith  follow  in  the  order  of  their  merits. 

THE  (iRAi'E  VIXE  ( Titi*  Lubi-uxca)  unquestionably  takes  the 
lead.  It  ought  to  be  the  first  plant  that  any  one  thinks  about  who 
intends  to  plant  a  vine.  It  possesses  an  historical  and  political  title 
to  this  honor  from  the  high  antiquity  of  its  culture,  and  its  uni- 
versal distribution  amongst  the  most  civilized  nations.  A  liberal 
distribution  of  grape  vines  through  the  city  and  environs  would 


ARBORICULTURE    AND    HORTICULTURE.  21 


also  greatly  aid  the  interests  of  grape  culture,  from  the  fact  that  a 
great  diversity  of  varieties  may  then  be  kept  under  close  observa- 
tion and  easy  comparison.  The  grape  vine  requires  trellises  of 
laths  or  wire  to  ascend  on  walls.  Its  mode  of  culture  is  an  object 
that  requires  particular  study. 

THE  EUROPEAN  IVY  (Hedera  J-Ielix,  Lin.)  is  perhaps  the  finest 
looking  of  all  climbers  (properly  creepers).  It  ascends  by  means 
of  little  rootlets,  by  which  it  fastens  itself  to  stones,  or  the  bark  of 
trees.  It  possesses  not  only  a  glossy  dark  green  cordate  and 
three-lobed  foliage  in  great  abundance,  but  the  foliage  is  also  ever- 
green, a  property  very  rare  amongst  climbers.  After  attaining 
some  age  it  bears  umbels  of  yellowish  green  flowers,  which  are 
followed  by  black  berries.  It  ought  not  to  be  grown  on  wooden 
buildings,  for  it  causes  them  to  decay,  but  on  stone  buildings  it 
fastens  itself  firmly  without  injury  to  stone  or  cement.  The 
thick  garniture  of  foliage  with  which  it  covers  the  surface  ex- 
cludes the  stormy  weather,  and  has,  therefore,  a  tendency  to  pre- 
serve the  walls  rather  than  injure  them.  It  may  attain  to  an  age 
of  hundreds  of  years,  and  grow  to  immense  dimensions.  It  serves 
excellently  to  subdue  the  nakedness  and  openness  of  the  monoto- 
nous garden  railings  by  densely  covering  the  railings,  which 
makes  a  beautiful  wall  of  polished  green,  so  that  even  in  the 
midst  of  winter  it  is  refreshing  to  walk  along  them.  It  forms 
beautiful  edgings  along  walks  and  around  flower  beds  when  planted 
pretty  thickly,  tucked  down  and  kept  neatly  to  a  breadth  of,  say, 
from  one  foot  to  twenty  inches,  so  as  to  form  a  mass  of  the  fresh- 
est verdure,  especially  in  early  summer,  and,  of  course,  all  through 
the  winter  in  a  darker  state.  Ivy  is  readily  propagated  in  the 
open  air  by  making  cuttings  of  about  four  inches  in  length,  and 
inserting  them  in  well  prepared  ground  close  up  to  one  another. 
This  is  best  done  in  September,  and  if  covered  over  with  straw 
•during  winter,  they  will  be  well  rooted  and  ready  for  transplant- 
ing in  early  spring.  They  must  be  thickly  planted  for  good  effect 
in  edgings,  say  about  six  or  eight  inches  apart  in  every  direction. 
A  border  of  eighteen  inches  breadth  requires  thus  about  fifteen 
plants  for  the  running  yard.  The  scarlet  geranium,  encircled 
with  an  edging  of  ivy,  produces  a  capital  effect.  It  may  also  be 
used  with  the  best  taste  in  the  dry  air  of  rooms,  and  cover  over 
walls  and  trellises,  when  planted  in  a  tube.  The  ivy  is  not  a  na- 


22 


ARBORICULTURE  AND  HORTICULTURE. 


tive  of  this  country,  but  of  the  milder  regions  of  Europe.  Of 
the  very  numerous  species  of  climbers  of  our  flora  is  especially 
one  noted  for  its  luxuriance  of  growth  and  beauty  of  foliage.  1 
refer  to  the 

VIRGINIA  CREEI-KI;  ( .  1  injjcloj/*!.*  quinquefolid,  .!//'•//. r. ),  a  common 
woody  vine,  growing  in  low  or  rich  ground,  attaching  itself  by 
rootlets  as  well  as  by  its  disk-bearing  tendrils.  The  leaves  are 
digitate,  with  five  lanceolate  slightly  serrate  leaflets.  The  green- 
ish flowers,  appearing  in  July,  are  followed  by  small  blue  berries 
in  October.  Although  the  leaves  are  not  evergreen  like  those  of 
the  ivy,  yet  in  autumn  they  far  surpass  that  plant  by  the  brilliant 
coloring  which  they  then  assume.  The  ramified  tendrils,  when 
they  meet  with  a  flat  surface  of  wood  or  wall  (and  this  is  evi- 
dently what  they  are  adapted  for),  turn  all  their  branches  toward 
it,  and,  spreading  them  widely  apart,  bring  their  hooked  tips  lat- 
terally  into  contact  with  it.  In  the  course  of  about  two  days  after 
a  tendril  has  arranged  its  branches  so  as  to  press  on  any  surface — 
to  effect  which  suitably,  the  several  branches,  after  touching  the 
surface,  often  rise  up,  place  themselves  in  a  new  position,  and 
again  come  down  in  contact  with  it — the  curved  tips  swell,  be- 
come bright  red,  and  form  on  their  under  sides  the  well-known 
little  disks  or  cushions  with  which  they  adhere  firmly.  Another 
species  of  Ampelopsis — 

AMPELOPsis  VKITRHII,  which  has  of  late  years  been  much  dis- 
seminated by  commercial  gardeners  in  Europe  as  well  as  in  Amer- 
ica, is  well  deserving  the  high  recommendations  which  are  given 
to  it  everywhere.  I  am  at  present  not  fully  informed  about  the 
origin  of  this  plant,  but  believe  it  to  be  a  denizen  of  the  south- 
ern part  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  It  attaches  itself  much  closer 
to  the  surface  it  adheres  to  than  either  the  ivy  or  Virginia  creeper, 
and  fastens  itself  solely  by  the  aid  of  adhesive  disks,  and  no  fear 
need  to  be  had,  therefore,  that  it  may  in  any  way  injure  the  walls. 
The  leaves  of  young  shoots  are  oval  and  acuminate;  those  of 
second  year  wood  are  larger,  two  and  a  half  or  three  inches  long, 
round  oval,  three-lobed  at  the  apex  and  coarsely  serrate;  small 
racemes  of  berries  are  abundantly  produced  in  nearly  sessil  clus- 
ters. The  foliage  is  deciduous,  and  the  plant  suffers  sometimes, 
at  least  the  young  shoots,  from  late  frosts. 

These  four  climbers  I  consider  the  best  suited  for  exposures  to- 


ARBORICULTURE    AND    HOUTK  T I/ITIIE.  23 


ward  streets,  yards,  and  coverings  over  fences  and  outhouses. 
Flower-bearing  climbers  will  be  mentioned  in  the  chapter  on  city 
gardens. 

It  is  in  the  interest  of  town  improvement  that  I  intend  to  make 
some  remarks  about  the  small  private  gardens  within  the  city 
boundaries,  whose  careful  management  and  graceful  arrangement 
add  to  our  feeling  of  peace,  comfort  and  repose.  Wherever  the 
space  is  very  much  confined,  a  clean  sod,  with  an  occasional  small 
evergreen,  is  preferable;  but  whenever  a  sufficient  expanse  of 
ground  is  allotted,  there  it  becomes  desirable  to  introduce  such 
plants  which,  for  an  entire  season,  present  an  aspect  peculiar  by  a 
distinguished  and  fine  form  of  foliage,  and  a  choice  of  such  flow- 
ering plants  as  abound  in  a  peimanent  and  brilliant  inflorescence. 
Those  of  the  first  class  arc  generally  classed  as  sub-tropical  plants, 
while  the  latter  are  not  drawn  from  any  particular  geographical 
region. 

Selections  of  plants  for  flower  gardens  ought  to  be  left  to  the 
desires  of  the  owner.  Practice  and  experience  are  generally  the 
only  guides  accepted,  still  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  communicate  the 
result  of  experiments,  for  which  I  had  to  pay  myself.  From 
these,  and  the  success  and  failure  of  others,  I  will  mention  a  few 
unquestionably  well-adapted  and  indispensable  plants. 

Cnfadium  t^culcnimn,  in  any  rich  and  moist  ground.  Magnifi- 
cent specimens  of  it  here  and  there. 

(  unmix,  in  like  localities,  remote  from  trees  or  their  roots,  such 
as  Pr&msee  <le  .\ic<-c.  Mai^/mf/  Vail 'unit,  Imperator,  etc. 

Itirinii*  coiitintoiix  (the  Castor  oil  plant),  when  well  grown,  and 
of  a  good  variety.  It  makes  a  very  imposing  subject. 

One  or  the  other  of  the  palms,  such  as  are  easy  to  house  in 
the  winter. 

CHAMKROPS  PALMETTO  succeeds  excellently,  and  is  very  hardy. 
May  stand  in  the  open  air  until  November,  and  sometimes  later. 

PRITHARDIA  FILAMKNTOSA,  AVindell.  (California  Palm.) 
This  palm  has  been  in  cultivation  to  some  extent  for  several  years, 
both  in  Europe  and  in  this  country,  under  the  name  of  I>r<iiu'(t 
fi/(tiiinif<)N<i.  It  grows  on  rocky  canons  near  San  Felipe,  some 
seventy-five  miles  north-east  of  San  Diego.  It  grows  to  the 
height  of  fifty  feet.  It  is  the  most  northVrly  growing  of  all 
palms — (about  the  latitude  of  Memphis.)  It  has  not  yet  been 


'24  AHHoKirri/rruK  AND  IIORTICULTI-KK. 


tried  he  IT,  hut  is  very  deserving  to  be  fairly  tested,  as  it  may  per- 
haps, with  very  careful  protection,  stand  out  the  whole  winter. 

ALTHKA  ROSKA,  the  Hollyhock,  a  much-neglected  biennial, 
when  raised  from  good  seeds  of  double  Howers,  makes  a  grand 
display.  Alter  it  has  passed  flowering  it  should  be  pulled  -up  im- 
mediately with  the  root,  and  something  else  put  in  its  place,  as  it 
now  looks  ragged,  and  will  soon  die  off. 

THE  T UITOMAW.  So  hardy,  so  magnificent  in  coloring,  and  so 
fine  and  pointed  in  form  are  these  plants,  that  we  can  no  more 
dispense  with  their  use  in  the  garden  where  beauty  of  form  as 
well  as  beauty  of  color  is  to  prevail,  than  we  can  with  the 

PAMPAS  (IKASS  ((it/ner/iini  <i,-</('i/icii,,i),  from  the  prairies  of 
South  America.  To  give  it  the  highest  degree  of  strength  and 
vigor,  the  soil  must  be  made  very  rich  to  a  depth  of  fully  four 
feet.  Some  straw  and  a  low  shed  of  boards  covering  it  over  and 
keeping  excessive  moisture  from  it  during  winter,  is  all  required 
to  keep  it  over  winter.  If  it  never  would  put  forth  its  graceful 
silverv  plumes,  waving  high  in  the  air,  the  copious  pendant  rust- 
ling foliage  alone  would  make  it  attractive. 

AiU'M><)  D;>NAX  V'EBSICOLORj  the  Italian  striped  cane,  is  an- 
other wonderi'ully  effective  and  beautiful  grass  that  is  hardly 
known  in  our  gardens.  It  is  so  elegant  in  form  and  delicate  in 
coloring  that  everybodv  i^  delighted  in  looking  at  it.  It  is  verv 
easy  propagated  by  laying  the  mature  canes  hori/ontally  in  the 
ground  in  October  or  November,  and  covering  them  over  with 
four  to  six  inches  of  soil.  Beginning  of  April  every  node  of  the 
cane  will  have  made  roots  and  a  new  shoot.  It  is  perfectly  hardy 
without  protection.  The  same  holds  good  of  the  tit-limf/m*  lt<i- 
remnie,  another  tall-growing  grass  with  plume-like  tassels,  which 
is  much  in  request  for  vases. 

Tm:  C)I,KANDKI;  (Xn-iinii  O/cn/i^cr},  a  native  of  the  classical 
grounds  of  Asia  Minor  an^  the  southern  shores  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean. Much  too  little  use  is  made  here  of  this  exquisite  and 
continually  flowering  plant.  It  becomes  especially  valuable  and 
showy  when  allowed  to  grow  to  the  si/e  of  little  trees  from  six 
to  twelve  feet  high,  the  stem  well  supported  by  a  stout  stake.  It 
ought  to  be  sunk  in  the  ground  when  planted  out,  for  when  in 
boxes  standing  on  the  ground  it  will  be  injured  from  blowing 
down  by  heavy  winds,  as  the  heads  of  this  plant  make  very  strong 


ARBORicn/rruE  AND  HORTICULTURE.  25 

growth  during  one  season.  It  is  necessary  to  put  them  into  a 
half  flour  barrel  or  cheap  wooden  box  in  planting,  and  have  these 
perforated  with  numerous  holes.  This  is  required  to  be  able  to 
get  them  u-p  in  fall  for  wintering  without  great  injury  to  the  ball 
of  earth  and  roots.  Such  plants  carefully  lifted  up  with  the  sac- 
rifice of  the  box  or  barrel,  if  put  in  a  dry  cellar  upright,  or  hori- 
zontally, will  be  in  very  good  condition  next  spring. 

ERYTHRINA  CRIST  A  GALLT.  The  Coral  plant  may  be  raised 
from  seed,  and  grows  and  blooms  beautiful  during  our  hot  sum- 
mers. It  makes  large  racemes  of  handsome  peashaped  crimson 
Howers,  and  blooms  repeatedly  and  in  profusion.  It  attains  a 
height  of  seven  or  eight  feet,  by  corresponding  breadth,  and  is  a 
very  stately  plant. 

YUCCA  FILAMENT*  >SA.  The  Jjeargrass  of  our  Nashville  region, 
and  Yucca  gloi'iasa  from  Savannah  and  Florida,  especially  the  lat- 
ter, are  very  graceful  in  habit,  and  yet  large  and  imposing  in  pro- 
portion. They  belong  to  the  liliaceous  family,  and  produce  irj 
May  and  June  prodigous  spikes  of  large  bell  shaped  white  flow- 
ers. Perfectly  hardy,  they  need  no  attention  after  they  are  once 
planted. 

FRENCH  HYBRID  PAEONIAS  deserve  much  more  regard  than  is 
paid  to  them.  Although  their  flowering  season  is  limited,  yet 
they  make  a  splendid  show  in  spring,  and  need  no  attention  aftei> 
ward.  Their  foliage  looks  very  satisfactory  until  commencement 
of  fall,  when  it  may  be  cut  away,  if  looking  too  shaggy,  without 
injury  to  the  plant.  It  is  not  necessary  for  me  to  urge  the  cul- 
ture of  roses,  verbenas,  heliotropes,  jnsminum,  geranium,  phloxes, 
tulips,  the  common  and  laricolate  lily,  etc.,  as  every  one  knows 
that  these  are  indispensable. 

Hardy  and  half  hardy  deciduous  or  evergreen  shrubs  are  sup- 
plied by  our  nurseries  in  a  large  selection.  If  the  selection  made 
does  afterward  not  prove  satisfactory,  thev  may  be  exchanged 
without  entailing  much  loss  of  time.  In  attributing  space  by 
planting  the  narrow-leaved  or  coniferous  evergreens,  it  must  be 
remembered  that  they  are  either  shortlived  like  the  golden  arbor 
vita.'  and  some  of  the  junipers,  or  growing  to  considerable  size 
like  the  cupressus  species. 

Retipwpprq  aurea,  or  aryentca,  are  really  the  finest  and  most 


26  ARBORICULTURE    AND    HORTICULTURE. 


delicate  foliaged  of  this  class,  and  at   the  same  time  they  have 
proven  here  perfectly  hardy. 

Junipers  set  on  partially  shaded  ground  make  very  good  growth. 
For  most  plants  of  this  class  is  our  climate  very  trying. 

Of  flowering  shrubs  I  would  beg  not  to  forget  our  native 

FRINGE  TREK,  (('liiomintluix  Vir</'nii<'<i  L.),  whose  abundant 
fringe-like  snow-white  flowers  in  early  spring  give  it  an  unsur- 
passable charm. 

THE  CAROLINA  ALLSPICE  (Oetlycanthu* floridua  and  luci-it/nlu*), 
with  lurid  purple  flowers  that  are  very  lasting.  Hark  and  foliage 
aromatic,  and  the  flowers  exhaling  a  fragrance  similar  to  pine 
apple  or  strawberries. 

THE  STUARTIA  VIRGINICA  and  PENTAGYNA  are  the  American 
representatives  of  the  Camellia  tribe.  Their  foliage  is  deciduous, 
but  the  white  flowers,  closely  resembling  a  Camellia,  are  abundantly 
produced  on  short  pedicels  from  the  axils  of  the  leaves.  This 
shrub  is  not  yet  known  in  cultivation.  They  abound  in  the  Cum- 
berland Mountains  about  Sewanee,  and  in  the  higher  mountains 
on  Ocoee  river. 

THE  MOUNTAIN  LAUREL  (Kalnia  latifolia  L.),  producing  pro- 
fuse, large  and  very  showy  flowers,  grows  abundantly  in  the  sili- 
ceous copping  of  the  Harpeth  ridge.  The  transportation  of  some 
soil  from  that  region  into  our  gardens  is  necessary  for  the  success 
of  this  shrub,  and  likewise  for 

THE  AZALEA  CALENDULA*  KA,  which  grows  with  the  above,, 
and  is  one  of  the  most  attractive  American  shrubs. 

THE  TREE  ALTHEA  (Hybiscus  Syriaeus)  is  abundantly  grown 
here,  but  scarcely  with  that  care  and  attention  to  present  it  in  its 
full  beauty. 

SYRINGA.  VULGARIS  does  much  better  here  than  the  Xi/rin</<i 
Persica.  Highly  recommendable. 

THE  AMERICAN  WISTARIA  is  superior  to  the  Chinese  Wistaria, 
for  the  latter  is  very  generally  spoiled  by  late  frosts,  but  never  so 
the  indigenous.  It  grows  in  Col.  CockrilPs  Bend. 

TUP:  ROSEMARY  (l-tusnta /•/'// //*  officinali*  L.}  is  a  little  shrub,  a 
native  of  several  distinct  regions  of  the  countries  surrounding 
the  Mediterranean.  It  extends  north  as  far  as  the  province  of 
Langnedoc  in  France,  and  the  island  ot  Lesiua  on  the  coast  of 


ARBORICULTURE    AND    IloRTKVI/n'RK.  27 


Dalraatia.  Already  a  favorite  with  the  ancient  Greeks  and  Ro- 
mans, it  ought  not  to  f>e  forgotten  in  our  days.  An  eulogium  of 
this  beautiful  shrub  is  unnecessary,  but  a  word  in  favor  of  its  cul- 
ture in  our  region  is  but  an  honest  tribute  to  its  high  merits. 

It  grows  here  luxuriantly,  flowers  profusely  in  April,  and  pro- 
duces an  abundance  of  seed,  from  which  it  is  reproduced  again  as 
easy  as  thyme  or  caraway.  It  stands  many  ordinary  winters  un- 
protected, and  should  it  even  be  killed  sometimes  by  unusually 
hard  frosts,  it  is  very  easily  replaced  again.  The  perfume  of  rose- 
mary is  carried  far  around  by  the  air  where  it  grows  abundantly, 
and  the  two  to  six  feet  high  shrubs,  with  narrow  dark  green  foli- 
age, look  sombre  and  solemn. 

The  realization  of  the  advantages  of  tree  planting  and  horti- 
cultural embellishment  within  the  city,  and  the  amelioration  of 
the  physical  condition  of  the  surroundings  by  similar  methods, 
can  only  be  substantially  secured  through  the  influence  of  an  as- 
sociation formed  for  city  improvement,  especially  for  the  reason 
that  the  appeal  is  not  only  made  to  the  private  citizen,  but  to  the 
community  at  large.  It  is  the  environments  of  the  city  and  the 
public  grounds  especially  to  which  our  greatest  care  and  attention 
ought  to  be  directed.  It  is  there  where  well  directed  labors  will, 
by  the  example  of  an  unusual  success,  lead  to  the  acknowledge- 
ment of  the  high  value  of  such  improvements,  and  stimulate  imi- 
tation. Such  public  efforts  would  at  once  be  a  testimony  of  the 
prevailing  sense  of  culture  and  refinement  among  the  citi/ens: 
and  the  association,  from  the  character  of  its  object,  would  natu- 
rally bring  together  the  best  elements  of  the  community  to  an 
amicable  and  blissful  union. 

Maintainance  of  public  decorum  and  display  of  respect  com- 
manding dignity  commensurate  to  the  wealth  of  the  community r 
are  as  indispensable  to  her  prosperity  as  faultless  conduct  and  ap- 
pearance to  the  success  of  the  individual.  And  as  there  is  no 
personal  worthiness  without  a  correlative  and  duly  adjusted  self- 
respect,  so  must  necessarily  the  virtue  and  intelligence  of  the 
masses  making  up  a  commonwealth  be  greatly  doubted  when  it  is 
not  reflected  in  works  of  public  enterprise. 

Patriotism  itself,  that  is,  estimation  of  one's  society,  is  a  reflex 
of  self-estimation;  and  assertion  of  one's  society's  claims  is  an 
indirect  assertion  of  one's  own  claims  as  a  part  of  it.  I  do  not 


28  ARBORICULTURE    AND    HORTICULTURE. 


hesitate  to  ascribe  the  obvious  deficiency  of  public  spirit  in  a 
great  measure  to  the  incongrueuce  and  incengeniality  of  our  com- 
munity. 

Burdened  with  the  disadvantage  of  intermixture  with  an  un- 
U3sthetic  race,  we  must  \vake  up  and  preserve  an  enthusiasm  for 
the  higher  aims  of  life,  or  be  in  danger  of  abandoning  our  high 
distinction.  In  regard  to  our  short-comings,  let  us  remember 
what  Herbert  Spencer  says :  "  When  there  has  been  adequately 
seized  the  truth  that  societies  are  products  of  evolution,  assum- 
ing, in  their  various  times  and  places,  their  various  modifications 
of  structure  and  function,  there  follows  the  conviction  that  what 
relative  to  our  thoughts  and  sentiments  appeared  extremely  bad, 
had  in  reality  fitness  to  conditions  which  made  better  arrange- 
ments impracticable." 

The  culture  of  the  fine  arts,  says  Horace,  softens  the  manners 
and  precludes  rudeness.  Culture  and  study  of  plants  embraces 
both  art  and  science. 

Entangled,  as  we  often  are,  with  the  deep  sorrow;s  of  life,  and 
at  a  loss  to  find  the  causes  and  final  results  of  relations  that  deeply 
concern  us,  we  may  find  peace  and  consolation  in  the  quiet  re- 
treats of  the  vegetable  world.  Law,  harmony  and  progress  be- 
come more  perceptible  as  we  ascend  in  the  order  of  beings,  until 
we  look  upward  to  the  starry  heavens,  where  the  celestial  bodies 
continue  their  quiet  and  undisturbed  path. 

May  the  thoughtful  minds  of  this  commonwealth  give  their  at- 
tention to  the  philosophy  of  evolution,  and  ponder  over  it  with 
careful  study,  for  it  will  strengthen  their  belief  in  a  better  future, 
and  in  a  higher  perfection,  which  man  is  destined  to  reach. 


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